Eighteen sentenced for smuggling $64 million in liquid meth in semi truck fuel tanks

The members of a drug-trafficking organization (DTO) that used semi trucks to transport methamphetamine have been collectively sentenced to more than 278 years in federal prison.

On January 22, 2026, authorities announced that 18 people have been sentenced after a four-year-long investigation into a DTO “that specialized in transporting liquid methamphetamine by semi truck from Mexico, through Texas, to Oklahoma City and elsewhere.”

18 Defendants Sentenced to Serve 278 Years Collectively in Federal Prison in Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy that Moved $64-Million in Methamphetamine from Mexico Into the United States

Details here: https://t.co/tiVK0PZ5fn pic.twitter.com/zFpYEPhtJk

— U.S. Attorney WDOK (@USAO_WDOK) January 22, 2026

The DTO transported approximately 35,000 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $64,000,000 from Mexico into the U.S.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, starting at least February 2021, the DTO members smuggled liquid methamphetamine inside the fuel tanks of semi trucks crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S.

In support of the DTO, Denis Leal Gutierrez, 59, ran trucking companies DGC Express Co. and Dare Express Co. that were responsible for hauling the shipments of drugs to Oklahoma. Investigators say he was assisted by Cesar Azamar Aguilar, 53, who facilitated the transfer of the liquid methamphetamine between trucks, and Adrian Naravez Cruz, 58, who instructed the truck drivers on where to deliver the liquid methamphetamine.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized a 2015 Freightliner Cascadia semi truck, multiple firearms, tens of thousands of dollars in U.S. Currency, and real estate located in Wellston, Oklahoma and Edinburg, Texas.

Also seized were “significant amounts of methamphetamine associated with this DTO,” including:

• 907 kilograms on March 3, 2021, in Tecumseh, Oklahoma
• 92 kilograms on September 6, 2023, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• 615 kilograms on December 8, 2023, in Wellston, Oklahoma
• 42 kilograms on April 1, 2024, in Tecumseh, Oklahoma
• 86 kilograms on April 2, 2024, in Newalla, Oklahoma

Authorities also say that the DTO was engaged in significant money laundering:

“A high-ranking, Mexico-based member of this DTO directed family members in Oklahoma, including his brother Hernandez and his niece Muniz, to launder drug proceeds on his behalf. Testimony and other evidence, including CashApp records, international wire remitter service records, and records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Oklahoma Department of Corrections, also established that this DTO supplied methamphetamine to Oklahoma prison gangs, including the Irish Mob Gang, the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, and the Sureños. These gang members or their associates sent payments for methamphetamine disguised as CashApp payments to Hernandez and Muniz, who then wired the money to close associates of the DTO’s head in Mexico.”

See below for specific on the identities, charges, and sentences related to the DTO.

• JUAN HERNANDEZ FLORES, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 144 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for money laundering conspiracy, three counts of domestic money laundering, and three counts of international money laundering
• JESSICA GUADALUPE MUNIZ, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for money laundering conspiracy, domestic money laundering, and international money laundering
• DENIS LEAL GUTIERREZ, of Texas, was sentenced to serve 420 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy
• CESAR AZAMAR AGUILAR, of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 97 months in federal prison for two counts of drug conspiracy
• ADRIAN NARVAEZ CRUZ, of Texas, was sentenced to serve 372 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy
• EVER ALONSO PANDO, 48, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 96 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for two counts of maintaining a drug-involved premises
• HECTOR QUINONEZ REYES, 44, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 90 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• ADAN GARCIA MIRANDA, 30, of Texas, was sentenced to serve 156 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy
• JORGE RAUL VEGA GARCIA, 31, of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 180 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• LUIS ALBERTO ROJAS PRECIADO, 28, of Illinois, was sentenced to serve 168 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy
• JOSE ALFREDO EQUIHUA, 40, of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 228 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• EDGAR RODRIGUEZ ONTIVEROS, 33, of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 168 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy
• ADRIAN PEREZ, 40, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 228 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Public record shows that Perez has previous felony convictions that include being a felon in possession of a firearm in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2022-4831 and using a vehicle to facilitate the intentional discharge of a firearm in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2003-1656
• PHILLIP RAY HOWARD, 54, of Newalla, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve 84 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Public record shows that Howard has previous felony convictions that include possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2005-878
• RAY DAVID LARA, JR., 45, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 300 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• HERIBERTO DONAN OCHOA, 34, of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 228 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• BRAULIO PADILLA, 51, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 264 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Public record reflects that Padilla has several felony convictions, including for possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a child under 12 and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Oklahoma County District Court case numbers CF-2010-4880 and CF-2019-155, respectively
• MICHAEL J. ESTRADA, 37, of Chicago, was sentenced to serve 72 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute

Investigating agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Oklahoma Homeland Security Task Force.

“The architects of this international drug-trafficking organization, who peddled more than 17 tons of deadly poison from Mexico into the United States, have now been held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “Coordinated law enforcement efforts led to the dismantling of this large-scale criminal enterprise and have protected Oklahomans from the death and destruction caused by these drugs. I commend the investigators and prosecutors for their tireless work on this case.”

“Collaboration between the FBI and our law enforcement partners is key to disrupting the criminal organizations that pollute our communities with dangerous drugs,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater. “By sending 18 associates of this high-volume drug-trafficking operation to prison, there is no question this joint effort has made Oklahoma neighborhoods and citizens much safer.”